In Progress: Heavy Gunfire, Prime Minister Office Stormed In Beirut

Yesterday we made it very clear why with the Turkey provocation avenue to further Middle East escalation rapidly closing, the one pathway left is Lebanon. Sure enough, today the escalation playbook is firmly in play – from Reuters: “Heavy gunfire erupted in central Beirut on Sunday after protesters tried to storm the offices of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, demanding that he quit over the assasination of a top intelligence official. An official said security forces had fired in the air. Witnesses said at least two protesters had fainted, apparently as a result of tear gas fired by security forces after protesters breached an outer barrier around the prime minister’s offices. Hundreds of protesters, waving flags from the anti-Syrian opposition Future Movement – a mainly Sunni Muslim party – and Christian Lebanese Forces as well as black Islamist flags, marched on Mikati’s offices after the funeral of Wissam al-Hassan.”